Author: T.A. Bharadwaj

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has started off the season in great form.

It isn’t easy getting a lot of minutes on the pitch as a forward for a team like Liverpool who boast of one of the most potent frontlines in the world.

However, the 29-year old has certainly produced a few eye-catching performances with the minutes he has had on the pitch, racking up four goals so far this season.

It appears that Sturridge’s ‘game’ off the pitch isn’t too shabby either at the moment.

The England striker’s latest social media post has turned quite a few heads. The Reds striker has posted an intriguing picture with a mystery beauty on Instagram, with both of them looking quite stylish in black.

Xherdan Shaqiri has had a fairly quiet start to his Liverpool career, clocking up only four appearances for the Reds so far this season. The Swiss international who was known for his goal scoring prowess at his previous clubs, is yet to find the back of the net for his new club in competitive football. However, the 26-year-old did score against bitter rivals Manchester United on his debut for Liverpool in the pre-season, with a tremendous overhead kick.

Liverpool humiliated Man Utd 4-1 in that game which was played in the United States of America during their pre-season tour, and Shaqiri’s brilliant goal which came in the 82nd minute of the game, was the icing on the cake for the Merseyside club. As you would expect, Man United fans would have probably wanted to forget the result and the Shaqiri goal as soon as possible. And it seems the club is now also doing their bit as well by targeting videos of the stunning Shaqiri goal on YouTube.

One Liverpool fan posted a screenshot of a YouTube video of the goal, which says it has been blocked by Manchester United on copyright grounds. Check out the post below:

Rangers fans have had to be really patient in order to get their hands on their new kit for the 2018/19 season. The club had been ordered by the court to hold off releasing their new jerseys for a few months after Sports Direct successfully won an interim junction against the club.

After waiting for months to buy it, a few Rangers fans on social media expressed their disappointment with the quality of the shirt and instead said that they actually preferred the team’s training kit. While the Gers badge had been ironed-on in their home kit, it had been properly stitched on in the training gear that was available for sale.

So, naturally one would expect the demand for their training gear to be high. However, Rangers fans have been taken aback with the staggering price that JD Sports have listed for one of the training kits on their website. JD have listed the price for one shirt at a whopping £999.99. Rangers fans online couldn’t believe their eyes when they came across the price.

In all likelihood, JD have probably just made a typo while listing the price. Otherwise, its safe to assume that they are unlikely to sell even one shirt, irrespective of how popular the training kit has proven to be among Rangers fans.

Liverpool and Manchester City played out a goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday in what was arguably the biggest game of the Premier League season so far. The two teams, who are early favorites to win the title this time around, came into the game unbeaten in the league and pretty much cancelled each other out.

The game wasn’t a dull affair however as it produced everything but goals, including great defensive challenges, incisive counter-attacks, some good saves and even a missed penalty. However, one really entertaining moment that most fans would have missed, occurred in the tunnel just before kick-off. As the teams were lining up and the players were embracing the familiar faces in the opposition as is the norm, one person was left mightily embarrassed.

A member of Manchester City’s backroom staff thought Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge was walking up to give him a high-five and so he prepared to embrace the 29-year-old. However, it turned out that Sturridge was actually going over to embrace Man City forward Raheem Sterling, which left the Man City coach pretty red-faced.

In fairness though, the Man City staff member in question managed to save face pretty well by pretending he just intended to hold the water bottles with both his hands, and as if nothing else had happened.

Arsenal have been in brilliant form recently and the 5-1 thrashing of Fulham on Sunday meant that Gooners have now won nine in a row, in all competitions. One of the main reasons for Arsenal’s great run of results is the form of striker Alexandre Lacazette. After a slightly slow start to the season, the 27-year-old striker has now notched up five goals for the season.

The Frenchman was at it again on Sunday as he put Fulham to the sword with a brace. What has stood-out about Lacazette recently, is the fact that he seems to be enjoying his football again. His goal celebrations certainly prove that as it seems the Frenchman feels settled at the North London club, after what was a difficult first season.

After his second goal of the game against Fulham, Lacazette in typical fashion ran over the Arsenal fans in the away section and celebrated magnificently. Check out this brilliant picture of the striker celebrating in front of the jubilant away fans:

Arsenal fans will be hoping the Frenchman continues his purple patch in front of goal for as long as possible. If he keeps producing the same level of performances, there is no doubt that Arsenal can seriously contend at the top end of the table.

Rangers brushed aside Scottish league leaders Hearts 3-1 on Sunday thanks to three first half strikes. The game was a one-sided affair from kick-off with Ryan Kent opening the scoring for the Glasgow club as early as the third minute of the game. Rangers were 3-0 up by little over the half hour mark, courtesy of goals from Alfredo Morelos and Scott Arfield.

Rangers didn’t score after that but also didn’t allow Hearts to create many clear-cut chances. Although, the away side pulled one back in the 67th minute through Jimmy Dunne, the result never looked in doubt for Steven Gerrard’s men.

One piece of tenacious defending late in the game encapsulated the effort and resoluteness of the Rangers side. When the ball broke free near the halfway line in the 82nd minute, Hearts midfielder Arnaud Djoum looked favourite to get to the ball first. However, Rangers full-back Jon Flanagan ate up the yards and put in a crunching tackle to win the ball and leave Djoum on his backside.

Needless to say the fans absolutely loved this robust challenge from Flanagan:

Given the plethora of attacking option that Rangers have in their disposal, if they can maintain the same tenacity and discipline in defence, there is no doubt that they will be challenging for honors this season.

It’s exciting times for Tottenham fans as their new 62,000-seater stadium looks pretty close to completion with the pitch being laid this week. While Spurs fans were disappointed when it was announced earlier in the season that opening date of the stadium had been delayed, they can rest assured knowing that once it’s finished, the stadium will be one of the best in the country.

The stadium boosts of a lot of one-of-a-kind features including a retractable pitch, a microbrewery, the longest bar in the UK, a sky lounge with a panoramic view of the stadium and heated seats. However, the design feature Spurs fans seem to be most excited about is the closeness of the stands to the pitch.

The club has put a special emphasis on the atmosphere at the new ground and have made sure that the stands are as close to the pitch as possible for a stadium of its size. Additionally, the club have also hired acousticians to create more clean reverberation times, meaning chants last longer.

Look how close the stands are to the pitch in the new Spurs stadium

The North London club have perhaps learned from the experiences of Arsenal and West Ham who have had trouble trying to recreate the same atmosphere at their new homes as they enjoyed at Highbury and the Boleyn Ground respectively. A Spurs fan posted a picture of the Emirates Stadium alongside the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, comparing the stands’ proximity to the pitch in both the grounds.

Check out the post below:

For the first time in real life, you can now see how tight behind the goals the new south stand will be. One of the main plus points compared to the ground down the road pic.twitter.com/ZkYbghykqB

Spurs fans will certainly feel they have outdone their North London rivals when it comes to the stadium. It’s safe to say that fans can hardly wait to experience the atmosphere at the new stadium for themselves.

It hasn’t been easy being a Manchester United supporter this season. The Red Devils have had some pretty disappointing defeats both on the road and at Old Trafford. United’s home form in particular has been surprisingly poor with the team failing to win games that looked straight-forward on paper.

Man Utd players have been met with a chorus of boos by the Old Trafford faithful both during the half-time as well as the full-time whistle few times so far this season. So when Mourinho’s men went 2-0 down in the first half against Newcastle United on Saturday, one would have expected jeers and boos from the home fans yet again.

However, the home fans got behind their team and gave the them a rousing reception at half-time. The United players certainly responded to the fans, managing to sensationally turn the game around with three second half goals, thus walking away with all three points.

Man Utd fans as well as players will be hoping that the nature of the win signals a turning point in their season. If the Red Devils are to march up the table in the coming weeks, they certainly need their fans to get behind the team like they did on Saturday.

While the first half was a closely contested affair, the Gooners came into their own in the second half as Fulham had no response to the speed and precision of Arsenal’s build up play. Alexandre Lacazette continued his good form in front of goal by netting in a brace while fellow striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also scored two late goals after coming on as a substitute.

The goal of the game however was scored in the 67th minute by Aaron Ramsey, who has been in the news all week due to a dispute over contract negotiations with the club. Ramsey who came on in the second half, scored the all-important third goal that sealed the game for his team. The Welsh midfielder was involved in the entire move as Arsenal counter-attacked swiftly through one-touch football.

While the attack looked like it might break down during several instances, the Arsenal players somehow managed to keep the move going until the ball was squared to Ramsey in the box, who produced a fantastic finish. Watch the beautiful team goal from all possible angles below:

Arsenal fans will be hoping the club somehow reaches a breakthrough in negotiations for a new contract for the 27-year-old midfielder. Ramsey certainly showed the Arsenal fans as well as the hierarchy, what he is capable of when he is on song.

It was a historic night for Rangers on Thursday as they took on Rapid Vienna at Ibrox in what was their first European group stage home tie in more than six years. After putting up an impressive display on matchday one away at Villarreal and earning a point for their efforts, the Gers came into this game as favorites.

Steven Gerrard’s men suffered an early set-back when they went 1-0 down in the 43rd minute after forward Veton Berisha struck for the Austrian side. However, they mounted a fantastic comeback to outclass their opponents 3-1 courtesy of a double from Alfredo Morelos and a penalty from James Tavernier.

When Rangers got their third goal of the game in the 90th minute, the players and fans certainly knew that they had the game won. It is very rare to see players celebrating before the final whistle as the game can change pretty quickly. However, Thursday night at the Ibrox was an exception as the players and fans were absolutely over the moon with the result.

Midfielder Andy Halliday, who came on as late substitute was caught on camera celebrating the historic win with one of his teammates on the pitch, with the final whistle yet to be blown. Check out the moment below:

The result put Rangers in a commanding position in their group. Rangers fans will certainly be hoping they can go deep into this year’s Europa League as they have been deprived of European football for quite a long time.